{RISKY BUSINESS BY HOMEOWNERS}
■ “ 25 bed bug bombs set off in a house at the same time”
■ “ Dousing sofas, chairs and mattresses in kerosene”
■ “ Killing bed bugs with a propane torch and a lit cigarette…”
■ “ Bathing in rubbing alcohol and spraying themselves regularly with off-the-shelf pesticides”
■ “ I have a hotel that imported chemicals from India to treat for bed bugs...”
■ “ Unregistered products from Mexico used everywhere in the house.”
■ “ Vapona strips placed in bedding and inside encasements…”
■ “ Applying pounds of DE dust to living areas and even sleeping in it”
■ “ Dust was applied so heavy it looked like snow”
■ “ Someone sprayed all the beds and couches in the house with chlordane”
■ “Setting mattresses and furniture on fire” For more specifics, refer to page 8.
rent survey, 42% of respondents said they routinely used Temprid, a dual formulation containing a pyrethroid (beta-cyfluthrin) and non-pyrethroid (imidacloprid)—a notable statistic considering that only 3% mentioned it in the previous survey. The 10 products reported to be most utilized for bed bugs are shown in Figure 8. When pest managers were asked if they were
satisfied with the performance of current bed bug insecticides, 18% said “very satisfied,” 59% were “somewhat satisfied” and 23% were either “not very” or “not at all satisfied.” This represents a mod- est increase in approval compared to a year ago, when 13% and 55% of respondents, respectively, said they were “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with available insecticides, and 32% were not satisfied (Figure 9). Respondents were divided about whether they
have encountered bed bug populations resistant to insecticides. Though it’s debatable whether PMPs can always discern resistance without appropriate testing, half of those surveyed said they “never” (41%) or “seldom” (10%) encounter populations that appear resistant in the field. In commercial practice, resistance to an insecticide can be less obvious when also employing other tactics such as encasements, steam, vacuuming, etc. Moreover, several products (e.g., Bedlam, Sterifab, Kicker, Ex-
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citR, miscellaneous aerosols/essential oils) tend to be effective ‘contact killers’ when resistant bed bugs are sprayed directly. While such populations may be ‘immune’ to the principal active ingredients (e.g., pyrethroids or pyrethrins), the bugs and some- times eggs may succumb to solvents, propellants, synergists, or other constituents of the formulation. Furthermore, increasingly popular products such as Phantom, Temprid and Transport often perform better against resistant populations than conven- tional pyrethroids. When companies “throw every- thing but the kitchen sink” at infestations, resistance will usually be less apparent—which could be why some firms seemingly never encounter resistant bed bug populations in the field. In the laboratory, stud- ies suggest resistance to pyrethroids is widespread (Zhu et al. 2010).
Treating Beds In both 2010 and 2011, most respondents (81%) said their company typically treats infested beds with insecticides. Of those surveyed in 2011 that do treat beds, 73% treat both the mattress and box springs. Before the resurgence of bed bugs, many professionals would have been hesitant to treat a bed with pesticides. Companies today often find themselves “between a rock and a hard place” decid- ing when and how to treat such areas.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 PESTWORLD 11
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